House Speaker John Boehners Plan B to avert the fiscal cliff was shelved last night. Boehner cited failure to garner enough Republican votes for passage in the House. This was good news for the Republican Party and conservative movement, as Plan B included a major tax hike on those earning more than $1 million per year and would have shown GOP to be party of sellouts.

Boehners allies have mislead Americans all week, claiming that Plan B would not raise taxes, rather extend the tax cuts set to expire at the start of next year.

That really isnt true at all. Boehner is still raising taxes on Americans, they just happen to be a smaller group of Americans. Its against the Republican Party low-tax platform. Plan B failed Thursday, because Boehner asked Republicans to break the very framework of the party in return for nothing: no spending cuts, no entitlement reforms. Just a large tax hike.

Republican rank and file will now blame the conservative wing of the party for failing to extend tax cuts, ultimately going off the fiscal cliff.

[...]

Thankfully, the few conservative House Republicans are standing united against Boehners inane fiscal cliff bills, showing Thursday that they were not prepared to compromise on their principles.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wing’s equivalent of the pro-life wing’s Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.

Are you kidding? The Republicans will get the blame not matter what. If they cave on taxes and worse, no spending cuts, they will lose all conservative votes.

The Republicans could have won this past election if they had run a conservative campaign and not a liberal lite one. Turnout was lower than even for McInsane because not enough conservatives could hold their noses.

Caving in on the fiscal cliff and being liberal lite will kill the party, not sticking to principles despite the blame game.

The Democrats, like their leader, are anxious to plunge over the cliff. Their coconspirators, the media have painted the GOP as the villains who only want to protect the “rich”. Going over the cliff entails massive tax increases and drastic cuts in military spending. Any spending cuts they don’t want can be rather easily restored after the media runs “news” stories about the suffering and anguish of the poor, the unemployed, and the elderly. The minorities will blame Republicans and will be thankful the Democrats restore their entitlements.

By mid year the Republican Party will be even more irrelevant and the Tea Party declared a terrorist group.

“Republican rank and file will now blame the conservative wing of the party for failing to extend tax cuts, ultimately going off the fiscal cliff”

I have not noticed any GOP rank and file going on TV or radio or print
or the web stating that if this vote had been held, they would have voted
to raise taxes. I wonder why. I mean, if they think raising taxes on the rich,
was a good idea, why are they not saying so in public? I think we all know
why.

Have you seen any of these Rinos who wanted to vote for Tax increases
on major media saying if the the vote had been held, they would have voted
for Tax increases on the rich? I mean, if they thought this was good policy,
why don’t u think they are out front today instead of hiding in the shadows.

Conservatives had the conviction to state their position last night

Where are all the Rinos today stating they would have voted for this bill.

I think we both know why the Rinos don’t have the conviction to re-state
Their position in public today.

These Rinos can state it just as you have.
If they believe, as you do that this bill was the best option
let them go public in their own districts and state the reason
they would have voted for this great bill.

You did a commendable job in explaining it. Short and to the point.

They should too. However, I am not holding my breath that any
of these RINO’s will go public and state their conviction
about this bill.

You and I know why they won’t have the courage to state it
as you did. Maybe u should run for congress. You have more
conviction than these RINO’s do.

The Democrats will fix the cuts in entitlements, as I said. I wouldn’t look to them to do anything about capital gains, inheritance or higher income rates. If Obama is serious about Hagel, they will let the military cuts stand except for window dressing.

What BS. Now incomes of over $250K will have higher taxes, instead of $1M. The GOP has been shown to be the party of stupidity.

The votes for Plan B were there in the morning ... but then, as the details of the deal leaked out, the House switchboard was flooded with phone calls to Republicans threatening to “primary them out” if they voted for Plan B. By evening, Plan B was 25 votes short.

Harry Reid already said that he would not allow the Senate to vote on Plan B, and Obama said he would veto it even if the Senate passed it. Why is it stupid to not vote on it?

Actually, if there is no agreement before 1 January 2013:
* everybody gets a tax increase, including many of the 47% that don’t pay taxes now (i.e., reduced child credit, and the credits will not be sent to the taxpayer if no taxes are due), resulting in immediate increases in withholding.
* the AMT will get applied to about 33 million high end tax payers, especially people in high tax States (California, New York, New Jersey) who pay high taxes and high mortgages, resulting in increased withholding.
* extended Unemployment Insurance will be cut off immediately for several millions of the unemployed.
* The defense industry will give lay off notices to tens of thousands as contracts are cancelled “for the convenience of the Government”.
* the stock market will tank.

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have been taking this seriously, having essentially ignored the problem for 8 months. When all of the withholding kicks in, and unemployment insurance and food stamps get cut off, causing the switchboard to be flooded for both Republicans and Democrats, they all will have to get serious.

I believe the advantage will flip to the Republicans when this happens. After all, the House passed a bill to extend all of the tax cuts last May. And it is better to have this fight now, 2 years away from an election, than in an election year.

Personally, I think I would hold out for a total freeze on spending, thus abolishing baseline budgeting; and if there is no agreement by the time the debt ceiling was hit, I would shut down the government until the Senate passed a bill to freeze spending, and Obama signed it. They could go back to regular order to make adjustments. I would have Republicans send out letters to each of their constituants explaining that we simply cannot continue borrowing 46 cents of every dollar spent by the Feds — it steals money from our children, and when the FED finances it, it results in inflation which steals money from everyone’s retirement account.

“the Tea Party chant is do it in public...let us see the negotiations, have it on Cspan, then the public can send you a message of approval.’

Exactly.

The big government advocates do not want their shenanigans to be seen. Boehner wants to negotiate surrender in secret, tell the Republicans it’s the best that can be done, and to shut up and vote for it.

The sooner this prima donna is sent to the back benches the better for the country.

“The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wings equivalent of the pro-life wings Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.”

So HOW LONG do we keep “playing it safe”? It already cost us our chance at the Senate and the White House - so HOW LONG do we keep doing this strategy - until that option is gone?

As to losing the House - why are you so worried about it, when our party is essentially rubber-stamping the President? I don’t see what the difference will be - maybe gun control? I don’t see why we should trust them on that issue when they sell out to Obama on taxes. I simply fail to see a difference in this House and when Pelosi ran the place, other than Pelosi oversaw an expansion in gun rights (into national parks).

“The fiscal hawks in the Republican Party are the fiscal wings equivalent of the pro-life wings Akin and Mourdock. They are doing immeasurable harm to the conserative cause by ensuring that 1) Republicans get blamed for going over the cliff, AND 2) we get a far worse outcome than Plan B.”

Cuz, just because you repeat it often doesn't make it true.

The only thing stupid in this whole charade has been Boehner’s ineptitude. He's the world's worst negotiator.

As has been pointed out on this board numerous times, all the House Republicans had to do was to pass a bill extending the tax cuts for everyone, send it to the Senate, and then leave town. Then Dirty Harry and JugEars would own the tax hike.

Instead, Boehner made a fool of himself (not that that is so difficult), obsequiously running back and forth to Zero with his various plans just to have Zero shoot each one down and then laugh at him.

Thank goodness there were enough conservatives in the House to block Boehner’s “Plan B.”

Maybe, but he wouldn’t be looking forward to a second term if millions and millions of tax-paying voters (like 3 people that I work with) hadn’t voted for him. They are the ones that carried him through, since this is not (yet) a Third World country where 75% of the people are destitute and have enough votes on their own to install a radical like we have.

...and the taxpayers that did vote for Obama sure as heck didn’t expect him to be force a tax hike - certainly the ones that make under $250k. He promised to protect them. But in the name of complete defeat of the Republican Party, he’s willing to let taxes go up, big-time, for those people.

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